City of Phoenix Bans Gun Training Advertisements

The 4×6 signs feature a red heart with the words ‘Guns Save Lives.’ Below it is this message: ‘Arizona says: Educate Your Kids. TrainMeAZ.com.’ It also has several paragraphs of smaller type with information about Arizona’s new law allowing anyone to carry a concealed weapon and directions to a website that contains information about where to enroll in firearms safety classes.”

The ads were the work of TrainMeAZ, a coalition of firearms businesses and Second Amendment supporters that joined forces to promote training, following a new state law mandating gun-safety training for those practicing concealed carry.

“The group paid $11,000 for the ads,” the Arizona Republic noted. The ads went up in October, only to be removed before the month was out. “Alan Korwin, a spokesman for the coalition and author of The Arizona Gun Owner’s Guide, says the city ordered the signs removed because a deputy city attorney didn’t like the message, Guns save lives.”

“The idea that they would censor free speech because they don’t agree with something is just an outrage beyond belief,” Korwin said. City officials claimed that state law did not allow public service announcements to be placed on city property.